Seeking budding writers in Oregon
The employment outlook is looking up for cannabis aficionados.

The Oregonian, the main newspaper in Portland, is looking for a critic to review marijuana strains and other weed-related products. The job listing for the freelance position demands an “experienced cannabis consumer” with deep knowledge of the strains of marijuana available in the state. The role will also include writing about the state’s “robust cannabis culture and marketplace.”

Recreational marijuana use was legalized in Oregon July 1, so jobs related to pot are sure to increase in the coming months. But the cannabis writer at the Oregonian won’t be the first person to hold such a role at a major American newspaper. The Denver Post appointed a pot editor at the end of 2013 just before Colorado legalized marijuana in the state.

Comments Off on Marijuana Industry Could Be Worth $35 Billion In 2020, If All States And Feds Legalize It

Marijuana Industry Could Be Worth $35 Billion In 2020, If All States And Feds Legalize It

If all 50 states legalized marijuana and the federal government ended prohibition of the plant, the marijuana industry in the United States would be worth $35 billion just six years from now.

That’s according to a new report from GreenWave Advisors, a research and advisory firm that serves the emerging marijuana industry in the U.S., which found that if all 50 states and the federal government legalized cannabis, combined sales for both medical and retail marijuana could balloon to $35 billion a year by 2020.

If the federal government doesn’t end prohibition and the trajectory of state legalization continues on its current path, with more, but not all, states legalizing marijuana in some form, the industry in 2020 would still be worth $21 billion, GreenWave projects.

In its $21 billion 2020 model, GreenWave predicts 12 states plus the District of Columbia to have legalized recreational marijuana (besides Colorado and Washington, which legalized it in 2012). Those states are: Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont, according to data GreenWave provided to The Huffington Post from the full report. By that same year, the model assumes, 37 states will have legalized medical marijuana. To date, 23 states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for medical use.

“Our road map for the progression of states to legalize is very detailed –- our assumptions are largely predicated on whether a particular state has legislation in progress,” Matt Karnes, founder and managing partner of GreenWave as well as author of the report, told HuffPost. “We assume that once legalization occurs, it will take a little over a year to implement a program and have product available for sale. So for example, for Florida, we expect the ballot measure to pass [this year] yet our sales forecast starts in year 2016. We think the time frame will lessen as new states to legalize will benefit from best practices.”

As Karnes noted, some of these states are already considering legalization this November — voters in Oregon, Alaska and D.C. are considering measures to legalize recreational marijuana, while Florida voters will weigh in on medical marijuana legalization.

GreenWave isn’t the first group to suggest the federal government may end its decadeslong prohibition of marijuana. One congressman has even predicted that before the end of the decade, the federal government will legalize weed. And as outlandish as it may sound, it’s already possible to observe significant shifts in federal policy toward pot.

The federal government allowed Colorado’s and Washington’s historic marijuana laws to take effect last year. President Barack Obama signed the 2014 farm bill, which legalized industrial hemp production for research purposes in the states that permit it, and the first hemp crops in U.S. soil in decades are already growing. And in May, the U.S. House passed measures attempting to limit Drug Enforcement Administration crackdowns on medical marijuana shops when they’re legal in a state.

The GreenWave report also projects a substantial shift in the marijuana marketplace — the merging of the medical and recreational markets in states that have both.

“In the state of Colorado, we are beginning to see the sales impact — i.e., cannibalization of medical marijuana sales by the adult-use market — when the two markets co-exist,” Karnes said. “We expect a similar dynamic to unfold in those states that will implement a dual marijuana market.”

Karnes writes in the executive summary that just what the marijuana industry will look like in 2020 will largely depend on how the industry is regulated and how it is taxed by that time.

“Since ‘chronic pain’ is the most common ailment among medical marijuana users, it is likely that recreational users can already purchase marijuana without great difficulty in states where medicinal use is legal,” the report reads. “Accordingly, it can be argued that a merged market already exists in medical marijuana states. Less currently popular, but arguably providing more economic stimulus, would be a regulatory regime providing for only adult recreational use.”

I used to work at a medicinal cannabis dispensary, and I have a floral business, so I thought Buds and Blossoms would be a fun way to bring cannabis into the wedding scene. Guests could take the bud from their bouquet or boutonniere and enjoy their wedding weed on the wedding night.

I’d recommend different strains for different times of the wedding.Sativa is like a cup of coffee – it picks you up and makes you feel euphoric – so I’d give that at the beginning. Indica helps you relax, so I’d put a little indica chocolate in your party favour bag for afterwards.

It can be difficult finding venues that are OK with having marijuana on their property. Some are on state land where it’s not legal, and some private venues have anti-cannabis policies. In certain circumstances I can rent a limo for guests that serves as a private smoking lounge.

A lot of ingenuity is required in this business, in spite of legalisation.There’s still a lot of stigma – you never know how people are going to react. Once the regulations relax a bit more, I can see a huge influx in these kinds of weddings coming through.

Personally, I enjoy the plant. It’s something I started enjoying in college. I use it for medicinal as well as recreational reasons.

I can take two puffs of a certain strain and a really bad migraine will be reduced to a headache in 10 minutes. Sometimes it’ll even stop muscle spasms. It’s like taking an Advil, but I’d rather take something natural than a bunch of chemicals in a pill.

This is an amazing up-and-coming industry. I’ve been involved for five years now and have watched it expand and change. But my motivations are not really financial at all. I’m trying to make more people comfortable with cannabis and aware of its benefits.

The industry is very tightly regulated at the moment and I like that fact. Not just anybody can come in and start a business – you have to be a true entrepreneur who understands the law and takes the time to do everything in the right way. It keeps out people who might not have the right mindset for this.

Pot politics, as we call it, changes on a weekly basis. Staying on top of everything is really quite challenging for all of us. I am involved in a networking group for women in the cannabis industry called Women Grow. We bat some ideas back and forth between us and share legal advice. It is really wonderful to see so many incredible women coming together to support each other on this issue.

My clients come from all walks of life. You get the old hippies from the 70s having their second or third weddings, then you get the younger generation who are very accepting. The exception are the people who came right after the hippy era and had the war on drugs stomped into their brains – they tend to be a bit more conservative.

Tourism has been a really huge factor since legalisation – it’s bringing a lot of additional money into Colorado. My last wedding party came up from Florida to have their wedding here.

You can spot the tourists a mile away – it’s so funny. You’ll see them taking pictures outside the dispensaries, then they walk right in and their eyeballs just pop out of their heads. It is such a foreign factor for many of them. They think it is just amazing.

Visitors think it’s going to be really in-your-face, that you’d smell cannabis on every corner, but it’s not like that at all. It isn’t legal to smoke in public. There are more dispensaries, but it’s not much different from seeing a few new liquor store signs popping up.

Every dispensary is different. Some have big comfy couches in the lounge, then you go into the back and have a private session with your bud tender, who asks you what you’re looking for. Others just run you through in a line, like they would at Walmart.

I think the need for education is huge in this industry. People need to talk about it and ask questions, even if it seems embarrassing.

It’s all about moderation and responsibility. The time when marijuana can get out of control is when people are ingesting it in the form of edibles. If you buy a bottle of whisky, are you going to go home and drink the whole bottle? No, so don’t eat the whole cookie.

I believe cannabis will soon be legal across the whole US in some shape or form. A lot of states might accept it for medicinal use only, but I can see places like California, Florida and even New York making it legal for recreational use.

Washington state issued its first retail marijuana licenses Monday with a middle-of-the-night email alerting bleary-eyed pot-shop proprietors that they’ll finally be able to open for business.

“We’re pretty stoked,” said John Evich, an investor in Bellingham’s Top Shelf Cannabis, in a 2:30 a.m. Pacific time interview with The Associated Press. “We haven’t had any sleep in a long time, but we’re excited for the next step.”

Randy Simmons, the state Liquor Control Board’s project manager for legal marijuana, said Sunday night that the first two dozen stores were being notified so early to give them an extra few hours to get cannabis on their shelves before they are allowed to open their doors at 8 a.m. Tuesday. The store openings are expected to be accompanied by high prices, shortages and celebration.

The state licensed 14 stores in western Washington and 10 in eastern Washington.

Spokane has three stores. Vancouver, Tacoma and Bellingham each have two. Seattle and the other cities on the list have one each.

The issuance of the retail licenses marked a major step that’s been 20 months in the making. Washington and Colorado stunned much of the world by voting in November 2012 to legalize marijuana for adults over 21, and to create state-licensed systems for growing, selling and taxing the pot.

Sales began in Colorado on Jan. 1.

It remained unclear how many of the pot-shops being licensed in Washington planned to open on Tuesday. Officials eventually expect to have more than 300 recreational pot shops across the state.

At Cannabis City, which will be the first and, for now, only recreational marijuana shop in Seattle, owner James Lathrop worked into the night Sunday placing no-parking signs in front of his building, hoisting a grand-opening banner and hanging artwork before he turned his attention to his email — and the official notification that he was a licensed marijuana dealer.

“I’ve had a long day. It really hasn’t sunk in yet,” he said early Monday.

He planned to hold off on opening his store until noon on Tuesday.

“Know your audience: We’re talking stoners here,” he said. “I’d be mean to say they need to get up at 5 a.m. to get in line.”

With the emailed notifications in hand, the shops immediately worked to place their orders with some of the state’s first licensed growers. As soon as the orders were received, via state-approved software for tracking the bar-coded pot, the growers could place the product in a required 24-hour “quarantine” before shipping it early Tuesday morning.

The final days before sales have been frenetic for growers and retailers alike. Lathrop and his team hired an events company to provide crowd control, arranged for a food truck and free water for those who might spend hours waiting outside, and rented a portable toilet to keep his customers from burdening nearby businesses with requests to use the restrooms.

At Nine Point Growth Industries, a marijuana grower in Bremerton, owner Gregory Stewart said he and his director celebrated after they worked through some glitches in the pot-tracking software early Monday and officially learned they’d be able to transport their weed 24 hours later, at 2:22 a.m. Tuesday.

“It’s the middle of the night and we’re standing here doing high-fives and our version of a happy dance,” he said. “It’s huge for us.”

In Colorado, reviews of pot are fast eclipsing fuddy duddy reviews of wine, restaurants, cigars and pretty much everything else.

Since January, the Denver Post has been running a culture-of-cannabis website called The Cannabist. It reviews every conceivable variety of pot (recreational marijuana is legal in the state) but also pot’s accouterments, including pipes, vapor pens, cuisine prepared with pot and outdoor activities made more enjoyable by being high.

Ricardo Baca, 37, the Post’s marijuana editor and founder of The Cannabist, tells ABC News the site has been a huge hit (no pun intended) since its January debut. He declines to quote numbers for how much traffic it has gotten, but says, “We launched three or four days before recreational sales of marijuana started in Colorado, and we came out of the gate strong. The traffic has been unreal.”

Browne’s review of Maui Waui — less than glowing — starts off positively enough: The “decently thick buds” exhibit hairs that are “almost an impossibly pale orange against a washed-out green. Think the Miami Hurricanes hat that Vanilla Ice used to sport.”

Its aroma, he writes, has been described by some as tropical — “a mix of suntan lotion and frozen drinks.”

“The smoke was sweeter than expected,” he writes. “Immediately I felt a tingle in my nose that was less like a limb falling asleep and more like a pre-sneeze.”

Did Maui Waui induce the “Zen-like state of consciousness,” he had hoped it might?

“Nope.” A slight headache followed, he wrote.

In this respect — the description of the mental and physical effects of consumption — the Cannabist’s reviews waft far above and beyond standard reviews of, say, veal piccata.

Not only does the smoke of Death Star have “a pronounced tangy earthiness,” writes Browne, but its effect is “highly euphoric but extremely grounded at the same time. I found my legs tethered to the ground with my head meandering in the sky.”

Browne, 31, tells ABC News he feels he has a three-fold responsibility to readers: He needs to tell them what variety they’re getting; what it smells like and looks like; and how it will affect them.

He says he used to work as a bartender, and would have to recommend wines. “Now, what I do is like being a sommelier of marijuana.”

Comments Off on Sick Children To Have Access To Medical Marijuana In Illinois

In states like Illinois, Wisconsin and Kentucky, parents of children suffering from epilepsy have pushed for the legalization of cannabidiol, or CBD oil, to treat their children’s intractable seizures, which can range from debilitating to deadly. Unable to secure the drug in their home states, families from around the country have moved to Colorado, which passed generous laws on CBD oil access for minors.

Gross is among parents who moved to Colorado with her children to get CBD oil; her son, Chase, suffers from epilepsy. Gross’ husband Randy, who remains in Illinois for work, was following the bill’s progress closely and told HuffPost via Twitter Friday its passage marked “a good day for us in Colorado and Illinois.”

Minnesota to Officially Become 22nd Legal Medical Marijuana State

Thursday night, Minnesota legislators passed a bi-partisan deal legalizing medical marijuana in the state, providing relief to those meeting qualifying medical conditions laid out within the proposal. Also creating more Cannabis Jobs to the Minnesotans
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The specifics allow for the use of medical marijuana in oil, pill, and vapor form – using plant material is restricted under the bill. Some say this compromised provision does not go far enough and may be keeping patients away from the only way of effectively treating their conditions – those who need to combust or vaporize cannabis for relief. The stipulations are no different from the limitations found in theHouse bill passed last Friday. Governor Mark Dayton signaled that he will sign the bill, and at a news conference Senator Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis and sponsor of the Senate version of the bill, offered commendation (via AP):

People in Minnesota who are suffering today who have no good options or options at all can have the hope of gaining some relief

While the bill provides for cancer, glaucoma, and AIDS as qualifying conditions, there is still consideration being given for “intractable pain” to be added to the list and praise on all levels is still measured. Opposition to the bill voiced conjecture that legalizing medical marijuana is just a step closer to legalized recreational cannabis and would pose a greater danger for children to interact with the medication. Minnesota plans to provide only certified patients with cannabis from one of eight distribution centers – the design also calls for two manufacturing sites. This passage speaks to the struggle many Minnesota families have had against lawmakers for access to the medicine but there are still the disappointed

Comments Off on Florida Wants Not Only Medical Marijuana but Legal Cannabis Too

If Vegas were giving odds on medical marijuana becoming legal in Florida, the bookies would be betting heavily. With almost nine in 10 voters favoring legalization for medical purposes, and bills allowing such use advancing in the State Legislature, the odds seem pretty good Florida may join the states which already have done so.

Cannabis Jobs – Moms for Marijuana International has named the vibrant mother-daughter team, Cheryl Shuman as its next Executive Director and Aimee Shuman as Deputy Director. Cheryl Shuman will take the role of Executive Director, bringing her 25 years skills of public relations, media, product branding, and business development to the blossoming non-profit organization. Aimee Shuman will continue to support her mother and join in her astounding work in the Marijuana Moms Movement, through her position as Deputy Director. The dynamic Cannabis duo will become the new faces and representatives of the Moms for Marijuana mission effective on May 11, 2014 – just in time for Mother’s Day.

Former Executive Director, Serra Frank, said, “Cheryl and Aimee have accomplished so much extraordinary progress in Cannabis reform, world wide, reaching millions of parents through the utilization of mainstream media. It was an easy decision,” said Frank. “Everything I have ever seen them do has been historic and monumental in Cannabis reform. Together, they will lead the Executive Direction of Moms for Marijuana into the future.”

Cheryl, who will take over as Executive Director for Ms. Frank, said, “I’ve known Serra for many years now and have always been inspired by her vision and dedication to moms and parents around the world. I am honored by the opportunity to join such a dynamic and ambitious organization, with such a clear and focused mission—improving the lives of the world’s most vulnerable, women and children. Our partnership with Moms creates a wonderful opportunity for women around the world to follow in the footsteps of Pauline Sabine from the 1930′s who led a group of dedicated women to overturn alcohol prohibition. Today, we are witnessing the beginning to the end of cannabis prohibition.”

Frank will retain her position as the Founding Director of Moms for Marijuana. “I have also taken on the task of being the Director of the Official Mom Squad (the organization’s membership),” she said, “to continue to guide Moms for Marijuana into becoming everything I have ever envisioned.”

Deputy Director Aimee Shuman states, “Women are the secret to legalization. We are the family decision makers and influencers in society. After all, women buy 85% of all household and consumer products, according to Adweek. Now we can use that influence to change laws, save lives, families and introduce parents to new possible careers in the green rush. As an entrepreneur, it’s exciting to be on the ground floor of the cutting edge of making news and witnessing the convergence of celebrity and cannabis culture.”

“The right leadership team is everything. Working with Cheryl and Aimee these past few years, it was evident immediately that it was a perfect fit in terms of values, integrity and personality. The addition of Aimee and Cheryl Shuman on our team elevates Mom’s stature, adding prestige and thus creating a positive ‘halo’ around the organization. The value of their ability to provide global celebrity and media exposure for our organization are priceless,” said Serra Frank, Founder of Moms for Marijuana International.

About Moms for Marijuana International:

Moms for Marijuana International is a grassroots network and organization of parents and other citizens across the world who are concerned with what they consider an ignorant war that continues to be fought against the Cannabis (Hemp or Marijuana) plant, and how it is negatively affecting the future generations of this earth. They focus on raising awareness, promoting education, and cultivating discussion about every aspect of the Cannabis plant, its history and prohibition, as well as the potential it has for the future.

Since its creation, by Serra Frank in 2005, Moms for Marijuana has grown into a global organization of parents actively working to change the stigma that surrounds the Cannabis plant and its consumers. Moms for Marijuana has a twitter following of 22,000 people, and a facebook following of over 225,000. In 2012, they also started a sister chapter called Parents for Marijuana, that has a facebook following of over 30,000.

Frank says, “Everything in life changes, and we must change with it. The only constant in life is that continuous change. We have recreated ourselves and our group numerous times over the last 10 years, and now it’s time to do it again. We have been working to redesign our website and hope to have it published soon. It is our intention that, through our website and our presence, we will help to educate the world’s parents about all aspects of Cannabis, and bring attention to the dire need for global examination and re-utilization of this extremely beneficial plant.” http://www.MomsForMarijuana.org

About Cheryl Shuman Inc. :

Cheryl Shuman’s TV reality started at age three with Charles Kuralt. By age seventeen, she had made several television appearances and was offered to appear regularly on The Bob Braun Show on WLWT-TV in Cincinnati, which led to a national recurring segment on PM Magazine. At age twenty-three, Cheryl relocated to Los Angeles to become know as the “Optician to the Stars” and created a new business, Starry Eyes. As CEO of Starry Eyes, Cheryl worked on some of the biggest films, TV, and music properties generating multi-million dollar revenues. This success led to her own show on the QVC network and a mutually rewarding seven-year relationship that included product placement, production and branded entertainment divisions.

In 2006, Shuman was diagnosed with cancer. After years of following failed allopathic medicine treatments, she opted for medical cannabis in the form of raw juice and oils as an alternative. Her success using medical cannabis led her to found the Beverly Hills Cannabis Club. Today, Cheryl is the most visible and recognizable woman in the medical marijuana reform movement, recently receiving the 2013 Activist of the Year Award at Seattle Hempfest. Together Cheryl and Aimee, her daughter and EVP of Cheryl Shuman, Inc., have reached over 100 million viewers worldwide while appearing on such mainstream shows as CNN’s Piers Morgan Live, The Katie Couric Show, The View, ABC’s 20/20, Good Morning America, Fox Business News and many other media outlets. Cheryl Shuman is represented by the prestigious William Morris Endeavor Agency in Beverly Hills. For more information, please visit CherylShuman.com.

Cannabis News – The Kentucky Health Issues Poll shows that 78 percent of those individuals that participated in the polling support legalizing marijuana for medicinal dedications and 40 percent of those polled are in support of legalizing the plant for any purpose adults see fit.

The poll in question validates a previous polling released back in May which was conducted by the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Cincinnati which revealed that approximately 80 percent of those Kentuckians that participated supported the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes. Furthermore, May’s polling View Post results share similarities with the most recent survey due to the fact that 38 percent of t those polled stated that they favor the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes.

Earlier this year Kentucky lawmakers approved a measure that legalizes the cultivation of hemp for industrial and commercial purposes once the federal government grants states the right to legally cultivate the crop. The latest surveys show that Kentuckians not only want to bring an end to the prohibition of hemp farming but also are very eager to see the reforming of the current laws regarding marijuana. All of those supporting legalization also know how much money will come in to the state for Cannabis Jobs.